DOE Scientists Prevented from Attending Conference

DOE Scientists Prevented from Attending Conference

Approximately twenty-seven scientists employed at national laboratories operated by the Department of Energy (DOE) were scheduled to attend the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conference in Russia in June 2017. In early April, the scientists received an email from Sal Golub, DOE’s associate deputy assistant secretary for nuclear technology research and development, indicating that they would not be able to attend. The email stated: “we informally notified the IAEA conference organizers of the following: Representatives from the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy and DOE/NE contractors at the National Labs are currently unable to travel to Russia, which means they will not be able to attend the IAEA’s Fast Reactor conference in June.” Golub gave no reason why DOE scientists were “unable” to travel to Russia. A DOE spokesperson in Washington indicated that “[w]e greatly value cooperation with the IAEA and plan to continue to do so whenever we can. The Department of Energy and the [U.S.] Embassy were represented at the event.”